Bucket unloader



March 16 1926.

W. A. LEWIS BUCKET UNLOADER Filed March 25 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March16 1926. 1,577,329

w. A. LEWIS BUCKET UNLOADER Filed March 2,3 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2jwmewlfoz 61 Hot n a; 5

Patented Mar. 16, 1926.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. LEWIS, 0F ASHTABULA, OHIO.

BUCKET U'NLOADER.

Application filed March 23, 1925. Serial No. 17,494.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lV LL AM A. Lnwis, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ashtabula, in the county of Ashtabula and State of Ohio,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Bucket Unloaders,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an improvement in unloaders of the bucket typein which the grab bucket employed for gathering up loose material fromthe hold of a vessel is; so mounted that one of the sections of thebucket has an extended range of lateral movement with respect to thesupporting leg for gatheringup loose material on the floor of the hold.

A type of unloader which is at the present time being extensively usedis one in which the bucket is supported at the lower 1 end of a rigidverticalleg in such manner that after the bucket has been opened it -maybe shifted laterally of the leg to position one of the sections of thebucket at a considerable distance of the axis of the leg to clean up thematerial remaining near the sides of the hold after most of the materialhas been removed.

, The floors of the holds of vessels as usually constructed are slightlyhigher along the center and inclined toward the opposite sides of thehold. In addition to the crown of the floor above referred to, thevessel being unloaded may have a list which causes the floor to lie atan inclination to the horizontal.

. tofore been found impossible to completely clean up the low side ofthe vessel with the bucket owing to the fact that the scraping edges ofthe bucket when opened normally lie in the same horizontal plane so thatthe scraping edge of the extended section when moving to closed positionover the floor at the low side of the hold travels above the surface ofthe floor, leaving some of the material on the floor.

The present invention has for its object whether the floor is level orinclined with respect to the horizontal so that the floor may becompletely cleaned by the unloader bucket.

Under such conditions it has here'- The accompanying drawings andfollowing description set forth in detail certain and laterally shiftedpositions; Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking toward the back of one ofthe bucket sections.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, the rigid bucket supporting legis indicated by the numeral 1 and the'two sections of the grab bucketare indicated by the numerals 2 and 3. The bucketsections 2 and 3 arerigidly secured to the lower ends of rigid arms i which are pivoted attheir upper ends on a transverse shaft 5. The pivot shaft 5 of thebucket supporting arms is guided for vertical movement in guideways 6 onopposite sides of the supporting leg 1. Mounted on the lower end of theleg 1' there is a pulley supporting and guide portion 7 which has alateral extension 8 at one side. lVithin the lower portion 7 of the legat opposite sides thereof are horizontal guideways 9 in which rollers 10ournaled on the arms 4 of the bucket travel. Mounted centrally of theguide portion 7 there is ahorizontally sliding beam 11 which isconnected by a connecting rod 12 with the outer end of the arm 1 towhich the bucket section 3 is attached. 7 An opening chain 13 isattached at one end to the end of the beam 11 which is over the bucketsection 2, passes over a guide sheave 14 in the extension 8 of guidemember and under a pulley 15 on the guide member adjacent the centerthereof, said opening chain extending upwardly within the leg to asuitable hoist drum. TV hen the chain 13 is wound up, the beam 11 isshifted laterally causing the section 3 of the bucket to swing outwardlymoving the pivot 5 downwardly in the vertical guides 6 which causes therollers 10 carried by the arm 41:

the section 3. A pair of closing chains 16 are attached to the outerends of the supporting arms at adjacent opposite sides of the bucketsections 2 and 3, said closing chains passing under guide sheaves 17journaled on the lower portion 7 of the leg adjacent the center thereofand passing upwardly along opposite sides of the leg to suitable hoistdrums. 1

The laterally extending guide portion 8 has a telescopic extension 18which is adapted to form a continuation of the horizontal guideways 9.The telescopic extension 18 is normally held in retracted position by aspring latch 19 which is adapted to be released to permit the telescopicextension to move to extended position. When the opening chain 13 iswound up, the two bucket sections are moved apart at equal rates ofspeed until the sections are in fully extended positions as designatedat -a in Fig.1. When in this position the roller 10 carried by the armsupporting the bucket sectionS is in engagement with the end of thetelescopic extension 18 and the arm 4 is in substantially horizontalposition passing through the open end of the extension 18. The end ofthe extension 18 carries a vertical trip pin 20 which is adapted to bepushed upwardly by the arm 4 which moves up into the open end oi theextension, in its opening movement the pin 20 being engageable with thelatch 19 to push the same to releasing position. It after the bucket hasbeen moved to the extended position -a., a further movement be impartedto the beam 11, the latch 19 will be released and the rollers 10 on thearm 4 will push the extension 18 outwardly, the two sections of thebucket being then shifted laterally in the same direction to theposition indicated at b in Fig. 1 to enable the section 3 to operate ata considerable distance laterally of the supporting leg 1.

The bucket sections 2 and 3 are so mounted upon the arm a that when thebucket is in closed position they abut along a line 0 which is offsetlaterally with res acct to a vertical plane d which passes through thepivot 5 of the arms 4 and bisects the angle between the arms. Theofisetting of the meeting edges of the bucket with respect to the centerplane of the bucket causes the scraping edge 22 01 the section 3 of thebucket to normally lie in all open positions below the scraping edge 21of the section 2 so that when the section 3 is extended over the lowportion of a floor which is inclined with respect to the horizontal, itcan engage with the floor throughout the closing movement. The mountingof the bucket sections permits the section 3 to yield in an upwarddirection so that the section 3 may scrape along a horizontal floor oralong the floor at the high side of the hold when the sec tion 3 isoperating on the high side thereof. The amount of lateral offsetof thebucket section with respect to the centerplane of the bucket is madesulticient to provide for the maximum difference in level between thecentral portion of the hold and outer side thereof encountered inordinary worzing conditions, so that, regardless of whether the floor ofthe hold is horizontal or inclined, the material can be completelycleaned up.

Having described my invention, 1, claim 1. An unloader comprising arigid vertical supporting leg, a grab bucket at the lower end of the legwhich consists of laterally movable sections adapted to be spread apartand moved to closed position to gather a load from the floor of the holdof a vessel, said sections being so mounted that the scraping edgesthereof when the buckets are spread apart are positioned at differentlevels whereby the scraping edges of both sections may be maintainedduring the closing movement in engagement with a floor inclined withrespect to the horizontah'and means for operating the bucket.

, 2. An unloader comprising a rigid vertical supporting leg, a grab,bucket at the lower end of the leg which consists of laterally movablesections adapted to be swun about a common axis one with respect to theother from open to closed position, said sections having scraping edgeswhich abut when the sections are in closed position and said sectionsbeing so mounted that one section is yieldably held when the sectionsare spread apart, in a position such that its scraping edge is lowerthan the scraping edge of the other section whereby both sections may bemaintained during closing movement in engagement with a floor inclinedwith respect to the horizontal, and means for operating the bucket.

8. In an unloader, a rigid Vertical supporting leg, a grab bucket at thelower end of the leg which consists of a pair of laterally movablesections adapted to be spread apart, one of said sections being mountedfor bodily movement laterally to a position farther from the boom thanthe other section, said sections having scraping edges adapted to engagewith a floor during closing movement and which abut when the bucket isclosed, said sections being so mounted that when the sections areextended the first mentioned section is yieldably supported with itssupporting edge normally lying at a lower level than the scraping edgeof the other section whereby the scraping edges of the two sections maybe maintained in continuous engagement during the closing movement witha floor inclined with respect to the horizontal, and means for operatingthe bucket.

4. In an unloader, a rigid vertical supporting leg, a grab bucket at thelower end of the leg which consists of a pair of arms pivoted at theirupper ends and carrying bucket sections at their lower ends, means onthe leg for guiding the pivot of the arms along the axis of the legduring opening movement and laterally of the leg when the arms extendedto position one of the sections of the bucket at a greater distance fromthe axis of the leg than the other, said bucket sections having scrapingedges which abut when the bucket is closed along a line ofiset laterallywith respect to the plane bisecting the angle between said arms, and

means associated with the leg for operating I the bucket and forshifting the same laterally when in open position.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto atfix my signature.

WILLIAM A. LEWIS.

